Disposable carton



SPf 2 1958 l l A. cosEN-rlNo 2,850,153

v DIsPosABLE CARTON Filed Aprilv 15, 1955 .-,gmtg

ATTORNEYS.

DISPSABLE CARTON Anthony Cosentino, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Ful-Vue-Pak Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of fllinois Application April15, 1955, Serial No. 501,649

3 Claims. (Cl. 24m-45.33)

This invention relates to a disposable carton useful particularly `inthe packaging of tomatoes, but also being useful in the packaging ofsimilar fruits and vegetables, especially those that are relatively softand easily bruised and damaged.

In the packaging of tomatoes, a carton is advanced along a conveyor andtomatoes are placed therein by hand. The filled carton is then fed to anautomatic wrapping machine that Wraps a transparent lm about the carton,and if the film is a thermoplastic, the machine seals the plastic filmin place about the carton. The cartons most generally used today arepaper tubes which States atet do not adequately protect the easilydamaged tomatoes,

and are not desirable from the purchasing consumers point of Viewbecause they conceal the tomatoes to a considerable extent and makeinspection thereof diiicult. While some plastic cartons have been usedto a limited extent, they have not been completely satisfactory becausethe means of support provided for the tomatoes has been of suchcharacter that the tomatoes are bruised by the support members. Further,in the packaging operations the cartons are frequently advanced over astationary conveyor table by moving flight bars, and the tomatoes afterbeing placed in the cartons frequently engage the stationary table andare rolled about and abraded as the carton is advanced along the table.There is a need, then, for an improved carton or tray for the packagingof tomatoes and similar articles.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide a carton ortray for the packaging of tomatoes that is capable of protecting thetomatoes to minimize damage thereto, and that at the same time permitsthe packaged tomatoes to be visually inspected in their entirety.Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive disposablecarton adapted to accommodate readily the irregular shapes of tomatoeswhile affording protection for the tomatoes. A further object of theinvention is to provide in a tomato carton, support platformscharacterized by being able to receive and positively support tomatoestherein irrespective of their irregular shapes, and resilient side wallsadapted to grip the tomatoes. Still a further object is to provide in astructure as described support platforms comprising a pair of concentricrings spaced from each other, the rings being operative ot providerelatively large support surfaces engageable With tomatoes over wideareas thereof and to thereby distribute the forces of support, the ringsalso serving to separate tomatoes from a conveyor table and to griptomatoes and positively hold the same. Additional objects and advantageswill appear as the specification proceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in Which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a carton embodying theinvention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view partly in elevationtaken along the line 2 2 of Figure l; Figure 3 is a vertical sectionalview taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is an enlargedbroken Patented Sept. 2, 1958 sectional view taken along the line 4 4 ofFigure 1; and Figure 5 is a sectional view of one of the supportplatforms taken along the line 5 5 of Figure l.

The carton or tray is equipped with side Walls 10 and 11, end walls 12and 13, and a bottom that is designated generally with the numeral 14which comprises a plurality of spaced apart support platforms. Thebottom of the carton is defined vby a perimetric frame having side rails16 and 17 connected at their ends by end rails 18 and 19. Each of theend walls, in turn, is defined in part by the end rails and by the sidemembers 20 and 21, that at their upper ends are connected by atransverse bar 22. A vertical upright 23 extends between the bottom rail18 and upper support member 22 intermediate the side members 20 and 21.

The side walls 10 and 11, in turn, are defined in part by thelongitudinally extending rails 16 and 17, as the case may be, and by alongitudinally extending bar 24 that is secured to the rail by means ofa plurality of spaced apart struts 25. As is seen most clearly in Figure2, the side Walls and end walls are separated from each other and are,therefore, independent structures.

Each of the support platforms 15 is formed by a pair of spaced apartconcentric rings 26 and 27 that are joined together by a'plurality ofspaced apart legs 2S. 1n the specific illustration given, the legs 23are four in number and are spaced apart by The inner ring 26 defines anopening 29 therethrough, and intermediate the rings 26 and 27 andbetween adjacent legs 28 are elongated arcuate slots 30. The platforms15 are connected respectively to the side rails 16 and 17 by arms 31 and32. Each of the platforms, in turn, while being spaced from each other,are connected by the longitudinally extending arms 33; and in the caseof the end platforms, those are connected to the end rails 13 and 19 bycertain of the arm members.

In use of the cartons, a plurality thereof will be stacked in nestedrelation, and it is contemplated that they will be dispensed from amagazine onto a conveyor table one by one. For this reason, it isdesirable to separate the nested cartons from each other, and this isaccomplished by equipping the carton at the corners thereof withvertically extending stops 34. The stops 34 are oriented so that theupper edges thereof engage the side rails 16 and 17 of a carton receivedtherein.

Preferably, the cartons are formed of plastic that may be colored,opaque or translucent. The cartons may be molded in such manner so thatthe entire carton is provided in a single molding operation. While anumber of different materials may be employed, it is preferred that thecarton be relatively flexible and have such flexibility that the endwalls 12 and 13 and side Walls 10 and 11 can dex outwardly slightly. Amaterial that has been found effective is polyethylene.

By referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that the struts 25 are spacedapart and are oriented intermediate the support platforms 15. Thus,individual tomato compartments are provided in effect between the pairedand separated struts 25 and the platform 15 oriented therebetween. Forpurposes of identication, these compartments are designated generallywith the numeral 35 and are seen best in Figures 1 and 2. The side Walls10 and 11 angle upwardly and outwardly at a slight inclination that ismost apparent in Figures 3 and 4; and similarly, as is sho-wn best inFigure 2, the end Walls 12 and 13 angle upwardly and outwardly. Thestops 34, on the other hand, are substantially vertical, and in anyevent should be so oriented that they readily receive thereon the bottomrails of a carton that is nested therein.

Tomatoes are readily placed Within the carton as it is advanced along aconveyor. The carton illustrated is adapted to receive four tomatoes,and each tomato will be placed upon one of the support platforms 15 andbetween the side walls 10 and 11. Each tomato, then, will be alignedwithin one of the compartments 35. The side walls, and particularly theportion of the rail 2 4 in alignment with the compartment 35 and thatextends between struts 25, are slightly resilient and will yieldoutwardly so as to accommodate tomatoes that are slightly larger thanthe distance between the side walls. Those bar portions will grip thetomato on each side thereof and tend to hold it firmly within thecompartment. The side walls throughout their length afford limited andindependent flexibility for each of the compartments so that, in effect,the separate tomatoes are individually gripped and the side walls areable to accommodate slight variations in tomato size. As has beenbrought out before, the end walls 12 and 13 are also resilient and canbe flexed outwardly when necessary.

The support platforms elevate the tomatoes and separate the same from aconveyor table and from other support surfaces on which the cartons maybe placed. Thus, there is no bruising of the tomatoes by abruptengagement thereof with a support surface, and no abrading of the tomatoskin during packaging as the carton is advanced by conveyor apparatus.outer rings afford considerable flexibility in the character of thesupport that they provide for tomatoes. Tomatoes vary considerably inirregularity of shape and size, and the concentric rings offervariations in support characteristics that readily accommodate suchirregularities. Thus, tomatoes can be supported separately by the inneror outer rings, or portions of a tomato can be supported by theindividual rings while both of the rings engage other portions of thetomato. The elongated slots 30 cooperate with the rings in their supportfunction in that they provide a gripping action in conjunction therewiththat stabilizes a tomato carried by the support platform.

While in the foregoing specification and embodiment of the invention hasbeen set forth in considerable detail for purposes of illustration, itwill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that numerouschanges may be made in those details without departing from the spiritand principles of the invention.

I claim:

l. In a tomato packaging carton adapted for use in the provision of apackage comprising such carton, tomatoes therein and a transparentwrapper sealed thereabout, a perimetric frame of generally rectangularconfiguration having side and end rails defining a plane along The innerand the bottom edges thereof, side walls and end walls extendingrespectively upwardly from said side and end rails, a plurality ofsupport platforms interposed medially between said side rails and beingspaced from each other along the length of said carton as determined bysaid end rails each for receiving one such tomato thereon, and a pair ofsupport arms for each of said platforms respectively formed integrallywith said side rails, extending inwardly therefrom and being also formedintegrally with the platforms, said support platforms and arms lyingalong such plane defined by said rails for juxtaposition therewith, eachof said support platforms comprising a plurality of relatively narrowsupport elements oriented with respect to each other so as to define aplurality of openings in each support platform, at least one of saidsupport elements in each platform being a ring having an outer diametergreater than half the distance between said rails and confining theother of the related support elements therewithin.

2. The carton structure of claim 1 in which a plurality oflongitudinally extending arms are provided respectively interposedbetween and terminating at said support platforms and said end rails andsupport platforms and being integral therewith, and in which arcuatespaces are defined between said ring support element and said supportelements confined therewithin.

3. The carton structure of claim 2 in which each of said supportplatforms is provided by a pair of concentric circular elements, and inwhich said circular elements are integrally connected by extensions ofsaid arms, are of substantially equal radial thickness and are spacedapart by a distance also substantially equal to such radial thickness.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

